If you’ve attended the Monaco Yacht Show over the past few years, you’ve seen them: brightly colored personal subs taking buyers on mini-sea trials. The subs are from U-Boat Worx, and they’re marketed to resorts as well as megayacht owners. The Holland-based company is adding a new line of subs that can dive even farther: certified to 1,000 meters (3,280 feet), depending on model.
The C-Explorer, as the new lineup is called, will feature subs accommodating one to six passengers. The first C-Explorer sub will seat two people, for example, and is therefore being called the C-Explorer 2. It will be rated to 200 meters (654 feet) depth, with Germanischer Lloyd approving the design, construction, and testing. The classification society is doing the same with the rest of the C-Explorer models and U-Boat Worx’s other offerings.
Another C-Explorer model will bear styling similar to that of a catamaran. For even better visuals than other subs offer, it will have an acrylic hull. When the sub is launched from a superyacht or returns to the surface, it will employ floaters that are flexible bags contained within sturdy housings. The housings will automatically fold in when the sub descends, allowing it to glide through the water easily.
Regardless of which model you choose, U-Boat Worx is offering several accessories. No doubt the HD video cameras will prove popular. Other options: underwater nav systems, robotic arms, and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that you control while seated inside the sub.
Prices range from €280,000 (about $360,000) for a one-seater model up to €840,000 ($1.08 million) for a five-seater model. If you’re interested in taking a demo ride, you can do so at the upcoming Monaco Yacht Show, where U-Boat Worx will premier the C-Explorer 2. Or, you can visit the company’s dedicated demo center in Aruba.
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